Holden Commodore 13 years at the top

Despite momentary threats from Toyota’s Corolla, the Holden Commodore has remained Australia’s favourite passenger car for the 13th consecutive year after finishing 2008 as Australia’s best-selling car.

2008 saw 51,093 Holden Commodores sold in Australia, continuing Commodore’s unbroken record from 1996 as the country’s leading passenger car range.

Despite the general downturn in the market, GM dealers managed to sell 10,848 new cars in December last year, this included 5413 Commodore and 1629 VE Ute models, the best monthly sales record for both vehicles in 2008.

The increase in sales numbers is partially due to heavy discounting by dealers. We have heard reports buyers around the country getting thousands of dollars off the sticker price. One buyer in Brisbane managed to buy a brand new HSV R8 for under $48,000!

Summing up the year GM Holden sold 130,338 vehicles in Australia commanding a market share of 12.9 per cent. This is in shadow of Toyota’s monumental with 238,983 sales or 23.6 per cent market share. Ford came in third with 104,715 sales or 10.3 per cent.

Another model which boosted sales for Holden was the new Sportwagon which went on sale in July. Holden says 8200 were purchased in just five months. Making the Sportwagon more successful than any SUV in the market during the same period.

The Holden Statesmen, no longer challenged by the Fairlane, led the Upper Large category for vehicles under $100,000 with a 38.8 per cent market share. The VE Ute also beat the Ford Falcon Ute.

GM Holden Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, Mr Alan Batey says the figures show that family-sized vehicles continued to be attractive to Australians. Holden believes the Commodore continues to remain as a smart buy.

It just shows that during tough times, people are attracted to products that represent outstanding quality and value for money. Commodore has become a symbol of local design and engineering expertise and Australia’s ability to compete on the world stage. “Holden is committed to a program of ongoing development to ensure Commodore maintains its reputation as a smart buy for Australian motorists.” Mr Batey said.

It’s worth noting that the figures include sales to government and private fleets.